Fairfax Circuit Court case to challenge police on photographing, storing license plate data

On Friday, Aug. 28,  lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia, representing Fairfax resident Harrison Neal, will be in Fairfax County Circuit Court arguing against the Fairfax County Police Department’s (FCPD) attempt to dismiss Mr. Neal’s case challenging the unlawful collection of his personal information. 

The case is on the 10 a.m. docket in the courtroom of Judge Grace Carroll. Rebecaa Glenberg, legal director, is the lead attorney for ACLU of Virginia.

According to an ACLU press release, Neal discovered that the FCPD had scanned his license plate twice in the course of a year and stored the information in a database, even though neither Neal nor his vehicle were or are part of any police investigation.

The press release said, “FCPD will argue that information collected about Mr. Neal and his vehicle is not personal information, and therefore does not violate the Virginia Government Data Collection and Dissemination Act.”

The ACLU of Virginia argued in its legal papers that the “FCPD’s argument contradicts the statute’s plain language, undermines its purpose, and conflicts with then Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli’s reasonable interpretation of the statute,” the press release stated.